


Pleasant Dreams

by Alice_n_Robin



Series: Pleasant Dreams [1]
Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Christmas, Cuddling & Snuggling, Death Bringer Spoilers, Developing Relationship, F/M, Feels, Skeletons, Valduggery - Freeform, Why Did I Write This?, kingdom of the wicked spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-18
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2017-12-12 04:23:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/807192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_n_Robin/pseuds/Alice_n_Robin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valduggery. A series of drabbles that are related and eventually build plot. Fluffy and cute with dark undertones.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Snippet One - 'Tis the Season

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kribu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kribu/gifts).



> This is my first Skulduggery fic! There needs to be even more fandom!  
> I've rated this M for gore and eventual fun times!  
> Please enjoy the wonderful strangeness that is Valduggery~

Skulduggery grumbled. It had been a long day. There was a scratch on his car and people just kept singing. The same songs _every_ time. Couldn’t they be more original?  
“Don’t be such a Grinch.”  
“I’ll be a Grinch all I like.”  
Valkyrie sighed, Skulduggery pulled over.  
“Sorry, grumble all you like. I am going to go and enjoy Christmas Eve with my family, it’s going to be warm and fuzzy and make me forget about all the zombies.” She unbuckled her belt, “If the world is about to end, don’t call me.”  
“OK.”  
“No wait, if it is actually ending, call me.”  
He paused, “ _OK_.”  
Valkyrie pulled something from her pocket and hung it from the mirror. Before he could register what has happening, a hand was on his shoulder and a kiss was placed on his jaw.  
“Mistletoe,” she said. Like that explained everything. She slid out of the car. The sound of the door closing brought him back to his senses.  
He called after her, “Merry Christmas, Valkyrie.”  
She smiled, “Merry Christmas, Skulduggery.”


	2. Snippet Two - 'Tis Still the Season

It was New Year ’s Eve and Valkyrie was sitting on the sofa at Gordon’s house.  
“Your movie taste is appalling.” Skulduggery rummaged through the pile on the coffee table.  
“I just grabbed some off the shelf from home.”  
“That’s no excuse.”  
“Are you saying that my parents have bad taste?”  
“Terrible taste.”  
Valkyrie rolled her eyes, “Alright, I’ll choose one.”  
He sighed.  
“What? What’s wrong with this?”  
“It’s Harry Potter.”  
“What’s wrong with Harry Potter?”  
“They use wands.”  
“OK. What about . . . this one?”  
“The Avengers? Really? I don’t want to watch people save the world. That’s what I do in my own time. I want to watch something else.”  
“Oh, my God. Why do you have to be so difficult?”  
Skulduggery looked at her. He didn’t have his façade on, but she could just tell by the angle of his skull that he was giving her a, ‘but it’s my job description’ face.  
“Fine. What about Pirates of the Caribbean?” She sounded hopeful, “It has skeletons in it?”  
Skulduggery paused for a moment, “No.”  
Valkyrie closed her eyes and grabbed one off the table.  
“We’re watching this one.”  
“OK.”  
“Seriously?” She looked at the DVD in her hand, “I haven’t seen it.”  
“Neither have I.”  
“Good.”  
Valkyrie put _Pitch Black_ in to play.


	3. The Nightmare before Chr. . . you know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me.

Valkyrie felt happy. She felt warm. She even felt snug. She was curled up in a blanket resting on something. Whatever she was resting on started to hum. It was familiar. She could hear the whir DVD player, it sounded like _The Nightmare Before Christmas_.  
She cracked a sleepy eye open and glanced up. Yup, she knew that jawline anywhere.  
Valkyrie became aware that an arm was resting around her and an extra layer of blankets were around the man she was leaning on. She could feel the grin spread across her face as he started to sing.  
“What have I done?”  
Maybe she was dreaming or her mind was breaking.  
He continued to sing, ignoring her completely. He really did have a beautiful voice. Valkyrie leaned back watched as he stood, embracing the theatre of it all. He mimicked Jack on screen. It was by far the creepiest and best thing she’d ever seen.

“… And by god, I’m really going to give it all my might! Uh oh, I hope there’s still time to set things right…” He turned to his partner, “Sandy Clause, Hmm.”

 

Valkyrie applauded and Skulduggery bowed deeply.  
“Thank you, thank you, I know. I’m brilliant.”  
She laughed, “I thought you didn’t like that movie?”  
“It has its moments.”  
“But it’s after Christmas.”  
“So?”  
“Never mind.”  
“You’re just jealous of my voice.”  
“It’s true, I am.”  
“Really?”  
“Shut up.”  
He ruffled her hair and before she could swat him away he placed his hat on her head.  
“Happy New Year, Val.”


	4. The Package

There was a package in her bed. It was small, just hidden under the covers. She thought maybe something magical had found its way into the house, but no, it was about the size of her forearm wrapped in newspaper. There was a pale label on it. There was a line through something that looked like _Merry Christmas_. And underneath that it said _Happy Honoka_ , even more lines through that one, and then finally, in cursive writing it said:  
 _Happy early birthday present  
From S.P._

She ripped open the paper. It was a plushy. A plushy of the one and only, Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington.

She hugged it to her chest and laughed.


	5. Boredom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TROPES. You have been warned.

There was a tap on her window.  
“What’s the emergency?” she mumbled as Skulduggery climbed through the window.  
“No emergency,” he said.  
“Then why are you here?”  
“Honestly, I’m bored.”  
Valkyrie said something into her pillow, curling deeper into the warmth. Before she was concealed he saw something white under the blankets with her.  
If he had lips he’d be grinning, “I see you got my present.”  
“Mmmmhmm.”  
He walked to the far side of the room. “I’m bored,” he whined.  
“I got that,” she rolled over to peek at him from the covers.  
“Amuse me.”  
He was prepared to be shot with a look of death from his partner, but all she did was sigh sleepily.  
It wasn’t cute. It was adorable.  
“Go bug Ghastly.”  
“He’s busy.”  
“Ravel?”  
“Busy.”  
“Go catch a bad guy or something.”  
“Already done. Though it’s not the same without my combat accessory.”  
She grumbled, “Glad I mean so much to you.”  
Skulduggery cricked his neck, “You’re cuddling it.”  
“Cuddling it?” with her sleepy mind she squeezed the plushy in her arms trying to figure out what he meant. “Oh. Yeah, it’s . . . cuddly.”  
“It’s a skeleton.”  
“You’re a skeleton.”  
“But you don’t cuddle me.”  
“Do you want me to cuddle you?”  
He paused, “No.”  
“You just paused.”  
He paused again, “No, I didn’t.”

Valkyrie pulled back the covers and stood up. She watched the angle of Skulduggery’s head as he glanced down, and then quickly back up again. If he had eyes she would guess he was trying not to stare at her bare legs.  
“Yes, I’m not wearing any pants. Excellent deduction Mr. Pleasant.”  
She was wearing black underwear and a baggy T-shirt. Before he could make some sort of witty remark she hugged him, wrapped her arms around his ribs nice and tight.  
It was a nice moment.

Valkyrie started to sway on her feet.  
Skulduggery chuckled, “You’re already falling asleep.”  
She mumbled something into his chest. If he had lungs, he was sure he would be holding his breath.  
“Back to bed with you,” he scooped her up and placed her down. She didn’t let go of his shirt.  
“Um, Val?”  
She held onto the fabric even tighter and tugged.  
“I’m not very cuddly.”  
His partner murmured something that sounded like, “ _Idoncare_.”  
Not needing to be told twice he tucked them both in under the covers. She hummed contently and curled up against his chest. Skulduggery placed his arm gently around her. He wished he was more cuddly. He wished he had a body again. A thought that kept coming up, not that he dwelt on it too much. He noted that his present had been cast aside. But he didn’t mind.  
Her voice was so small, “Skulduggery . . .?”  
“Mmm?”  
“Thank you for my present.”  
“You’re welcome.”  
“Skulduggery?”  
“Mmmmmmmmmmmmm?”  
“Promise you’ll stay 'till I wake up?”  
He rested his skull against hers, “I promise.”  
And with those words he could feel the tension leave her as she surrendered to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want more, which there is . . . let me know :)


	6. A Spark of Envy

Skulduggery didn’t sleep. He couldn’t, but he could meditate. He normally found meditating quite relaxing, but he wasn’t meditating. He was thinking. Thinking, thinking, thinking. A gift and a bloody curse. His thoughts swirled round and round. If he still had a heart he was sure it would be feeling . . . something. Sometimes he had ghost sensations, memories of pains that only a body of flesh could feel. It wasn’t pleasant. He was glad that he didn’t have a face, otherwise anyone could read him like a book. Although Val was getting better at it. He’d have to be careful now and keep his emotions in check. It wasn't that he wasn't happy where he was right now. That _was_ the problem. He was enjoying this a little too much. And that was dangerous territory.

He could hear footsteps approaching from the master bedroom. Gently, he pulled himself from Valkyrie’s grasp and hid himself in the cupboard.  
“Steph? You up?” Her father peaked in the door.  
Skulduggery watched as Desmond’s expression softened.  
“I guess I’ll let you sleep in,” he kissed her on the forehead, “We’re heading off to the park, we’ll be back soon. Love you.”  
He tiptoed out of the room, closing the door behind him.  
Skulduggery envied him.  
Valkyrie stirred in her sleep, her brow furrowed. Her arms reached out and felt nothing but sheets.  
“Skul . . . ?”  
He considered staying in the cupboard. Valkyrie made a distressed sound and her eyes opened. Her hands continued to search for what wasn’t there.  
“Boo,” he said, without conviction.  
She jumped, then sagged, “I thought you left.”  
“I didn’t think you’d want your father to find you in bed with a skeleton. Not a good look.”  
“He was here?”  
“He just left.”  
“Are you coming back?”  
“Do you want me to?”  
She threw a pillow at him. She missed.  
“Is that a no?”  
She turned her head from him, pouting and remained silent.  
Skulduggery’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced at the message.  
“What is it?”  
His shoulders slumped, “An emergency.”  
“Well at least you won’t be bored anymore.”  
“Yes . . . Well, come on then!”  
"Yay," she said, without enthusiasm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any requests? I know how this is going to end, but that will be in a while... I need the bit in between. Ideas?


	7. Soap and Soda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains _Kingdom of the Wicked_ spoilers. You have been warned.

Skulduggery opened his front door, “Well that was . . .”  
“I don’t want to talk about it.”  
“But-”  
“I really don’t want to talk about it.”  
“But really.”  
Valkyrie glared at him.  
“Does this mean you won’t like my present now?”  
Valkyrie was caught off guard for a moment, “You’re present wasn’t a magically enchanted teddy bear hoard of death, so no. Don’t worry. And I don’t-”  
“You don’t want to talk about it. Got it.”  
Valkyrie groaned and collapsed on the couch. Skulduggery was trying to be more considerate of her needs. There was a new kitchen, bathroom and even a bedroom for when she was too tired to go home. She appreciated it.  
“Get me a soda.”  
“Ask nicely.”  
She looked at him through her lashes and pouted her lip, saying nothing.  
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” he stalked to the new kitchen grabbed a soda and threw it at her, “There’s no need to pull out the puppy eyes for such a trivial thing.”  
She caught the can with a grin, “But I like soda. And stop rolling your eyes.”  
“How can you tell?”  
“I’m good at detecting.”  
“That’s only because you have-”  
“A fabulous teacher, I know.”  
Skulduggery went to make a witty remark, but stopped. He decided to leave the matter there as he opened the paper, reclining in his favourite armchair.

Valkyrie flipped through the channels on TV. There was nothing on. She left it on some trashy soap opera and stared at the screen until her eyes started to hurt.  
“I’ve been thinking,” Valkyrie started.  
“There’s a shock.”  
“Shut up.”  
Her soda can bounced off Skulduggery’s head.  
“Hey.”  
“I’ve been thinking . . . You know what,” Valkyrie’s slumped, “never mind.”  
“Oh no,” he said, folding the paper, “No you don’t. You can’t start something like that and not finish. That’s just rude.”  
Valkyrie chewed on her lower lip and wrapped her arms around herself, “Am I a decent girl who has the potential to become an evil monster, or am I just an evil monster that thinks it’s a decent girl?”  
“Who said that?”  
“You did.”  
“I did?”  
“Yes. You did.”  
Skulduggery angled his head in such a way, that she knew he’d be pursing his lips in thought, if he had them.  
“I can be a tad insensitive at times, can’t I?”  
“Oh yeah, _at times_.”  
He made a throat clearing sound, “I’m adjusting.”  
“Mhmmm.”  
“We’ll stop her.”  
“Me you mean.”  
“Alright, yes. You. We’ll stop you.”  
“Why don’t you just shoot me?”  
Skulduggery looked at her. Those empty eye sockets just looked.  
“That probably wouldn’t work.”  
Valkyrie couldn’t help herself, she started laughing. Her partner’s voice sounded defeated. That wasn’t right. That wasn’t her Skulduggery. She laughed so hard her eyes threatened to cry.  
The only sound came from the TV.  
Valkyrie’s voice was quiet, “I had my head ripped off, you know.”  
Skulduggery cocked his head to the side, “Literally or figuratively?”  
“It was Mevolent. He’s quite violent, even by my standards.”  
Skulduggery didn’t say anything. She could hear the sound of crunching leather. Valkyrie pulled her knees up to her chest on the couch.  
A few moments passed.  
Skulduggery’s shoulders rose and fell as he gave an audible sigh. He pushed up off the armchair and sat by Valkyrie’s side. He wrapped his bony arm around her and she leaned into him.  
“I ripped my own head off not long ago.”  
“I know.”  
“It wasn’t very pleasant.”  
“I can relate.”  
He chuckled, “Quite the pair, aren’t we?”  
She closed her eyes, “Yup, we sure are.”


	8. Crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Oh_For_Gods_Sake I have updated. YAY. I can actually feel more plot starting to develop. I got totally stuck but found a thread with prompts for Skulduggery online. It may have changed the direction of this story a little bit, but hey, at least I updated.

They were a team. They were partners. She was a kick-arse girl and he was a smart-mouthed, egotistic, amazing, magical skeleton. Her curtains flapped in the breeze. It was wrong to think about kissing a skeleton, wasn’t it? The façade would be weird, and Skulduggery said that he couldn’t feel anything through it. No. No, think about anything else.  
 _What about giving in to me?_  
Okay, that’s a total mood breaker. Was it weird that she kept having conversations with her own psyche? 

“Am I interrupting something?”  
Valkyrie bolted upright. Her voice was a little higher than she would have liked, “You’re supposed to knock.”  
“The window was open.”  
“You’re still supposed to knock, are you bored again?”  
“It seems I _was_ interrupting something.”  
Valkyrie watched the clean line of his jaw as he talked.  
“I would say that I would come back later, but the wonderfully frustrated and gorgeous face in front of me makes me want to stay.”  
 _He just said you were gorgeous._  
“Shut up.”  
“What’s on your mind?” Skulduggery sat at her desk, crossing one leg over the other.  
Valkyrie wanted to hit him. He had no right to look that amazing by just sitting in a damn chair. Her chair, at her desk, in her room and they could, well she’s not too sure how far she could go with a skeleton, but maybe - STOP BRAIN.  
Skulduggery hummed, “Sit down.”

Valkyrie’s knees buckled and she obeyed. She looked down to distract herself, the floor wasn’t doing a very good job. Her toenails were black, when the hell did she paint her toenails?  
“You’re wondering when you painted your toenails, aren’t you?”  
Her head snapped up, “How could you know that? Did you use your ‘spidy’ senses?”  
“I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just say that.”  
She watched as he leaned back in the chair, his skull angled in such a way she knew he was being smug.  
“What’s with the look?”  
“What look?” Skulduggery’s voice held a playful innocence.  
“You’re making a face, what’s so funny?”  
“You know that I can’t actually make a ‘face’ at you. For that I’d need to do this.”  
Skulduggery tapped the tattoos on his colour bones. A face flowed over his beautiful skull. This one wasn’t too bad. His eyes were dark green and he was smiling. Valkyrie looked back down at her toes. Etched thinly in the paint on her big left toe was an ‘S’ and a ‘P’ on her right. They were carved with precision and grace.  
“You’ve only just noticed?”  
“Yup.”  
Skulduggery sounded too gleeful, “Ghastly owes me a hundred dollars.”  
“When did you?”  
“Four days ago, after the explosion at the warehouse. You were knocked out and, well . . . Ghastly dared me. I had no choice really.”  
“You bet money on me.”  
“Well,” Skulduggery made some hand gestures like he was going to come up with an elaborate excuse in his defence, but then, “Yes.”  
Valkyrie glared, “What was the bet exactly?”  
“Ghastly thought that you would notice it within a day. I said that you’d been preoccupied lately and that it would take you at least 3 days to notice. So – I win.”  
“Did you actually paint them?”  
“I’m fairly sure I left my mark.”  
 _That’s rather possessive of him, isn’t it?_  
“But this is really well done. When have you ever painted someone’s toes?”  
Skulduggery made a throat clearing noise, “I haven’t, it may or may not have taken several tries. It really was a good thing that you were out for the count. Besides, if I did an unsatisfactory job you would have my head. But it looks good on you, so you won’t be mad at me.”  
“I hate you right now.”  
“Ah, no you don’t.”  
Valkyrie did her best to hide her blush by pretending to sulk.  
“So, my dearest combat accessory, what is on your mind?”  
“How did you know I’ve been distracted?”  
“Oh little things, here and there.”  
Valkyrie ran her fingers through her hair, “Like what Mister Pleasant?”  
“Well Miss Cain, the fact that you were so lost in thought that you didn’t notice the man approaching you with a baseball bat. I’ll be honest, that wasn’t my first clue, but it was some solid evidence that you’re not up to your usual standard. I mean, sure, sometimes you miss things. Sometimes shirtless men with muscles distract you.”  
“You thought I was distracted by Vex?”  
“Well, his shirt was in shreds, bloody vampires.”  
Valkyrie laughed, and then she laughed some more.  
Skulduggery’s tone changed, “So it wasn’t Dexter?”  
She was giggling now, actually giggling, “You’re such a numbskull.”  
“I’ll have you know that my skull isn’t numb, I feel it every time someone punches me in the face.”  
It was her turn to have a playful tone, “Oh really?” 

She pounced. Her strong legs wrapped around Skulduggery’s hips and locked him to the chair. Her hands were on either side of his neck. With the force of her attack Skulduggery didn’t notice that she’d deactivated his façade. He didn’t expect the softness of her kiss. Delicate, loving, gentle.  
Right to the bone.

Valkyrie kissed him. It wasn’t just the taste of bone like she expected, she could taste something deeper, more sweet. She could taste the very magic that kept him together. His essence, and it reacted to her touch. Her lips tingled from it. 

Skulduggery was frozen in place. He made a choked sound as she ran her tongue across his teeth.  
His hands came up to her shoulders and griped tightly. She kissed him again, harder this time, she could feel him lean in ever so slightly, but then his grip tightened and he said, “Stop.”

Heat rose to her face. What on earth was she thinking!? She backed off him. She was an idiot. A complete idiot. And then her mouth started talking.  
“So say, hypothetically, I had a crush on you.”  
She could just feel his eyebrows rising, “I think you just made that obvious.”  
“I said hypothetically.”  
“Ah, I see, using the pretence of a hypothetical question, that is actually your real question.”  
“Shut up. Say I had a crush on you. And it’s been distracting me for a while. I, hypothetically, haven’t acted on it because I know what you’ll say.”  
“Oh, and what’s that?”  
“That you’re older, that you’re skeleton, that it will never work. And with all your own hate and self-loathing you believe that you have nothing to offer me.”  
She watched as his jaw dropped open.  
“Well I say, screw you for coming to that conclusion.”  
Skulduggery straightened and stood, “You ARE young, and there are plenty of other men that can offer you more than I ever can.” His voice was exasperated, “This is probably a phase, you haven’t had a chance to be in a serious relationship yet.”  
“A phase? You think this is a phase? It will only last a little while, that’s what you’re thinking isn’t it? Why haven’t I been in a serious relationship Mister Detective?” She poked him hard in the chest, “It’s because I’m in love with you, moron. How can I possibly consider a serious relationship when all I can think about is a dead man, who dresses in impeccable suits and makes me go weak at the knees by his voice?” Valkyrie looked down, she added, “And remember, this is a hypothetical.”

A painfully quiet moment passed.  
“Well then, Hypothetically, I’d say in this situation, there is only one person that I really like to spend time with. She’s beautiful, she’s strong, she’s an idiot, and I love her. She’s my partner, my best friend and I’d never want to compromise that.”

So that was it then? He’d compliment her and reject at the same time. She couldn’t look at him.  
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning for the sanctuary meeting.”  
She nodded. He left.  
Valkyrie buried her face in her pillow. 

_That went well. Your nails look nice though. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally open for prompts. Or thoughts, feelings~ Comments make me update :D


	9. Feelings~

She hadn’t closed her window. Skulduggery resisted the urge to sigh. He was a skeleton, he didn’t have lungs, it wouldn’t be very becoming of him.  
He sighed anyway.  
Valkyrie was still sleeping. The sheets were a mess all around her and there were tissues everywhere. Skulduggery collected them all and placed them in her bin. He wouldn’t even make a comment about the hygiene of his gloves. 

“Valkyrie, wake up.” He didn’t touch her shoulder.  
“What time is it?” she croaked.  
“Time to go.”  
Valkyrie glanced at her clock, “Oh god, we’re supposed to be there in five minutes!”  
She threw back her covers, still dressed from the day before.  
“I’m ready.”  
“You look awful.”  
She rubbed the sleep from her puffy eyes, “Gee, thanks.” 

Skulduggery wasn’t very good at these things. These ‘feeling’ things. He didn’t even have a heart. Maybe that was a good thing. He was fairly sure it would be breaking right now. Even so, he still wished he had one. He wrapped his bony arms around Valkyrie and held on. Even if she kicked him he’d still hold on. She had every right to kick him. Why wasn’t she kicking him?  
“Skulduggery. You’re hugging me.”  
“Yes I am.”  
“God, do I really look that awful?”  
Skulduggery paused, “No.”  
Valkyrie laughed.  
A small win, he’d take it. “I’m sorry.”  
“For what?”  
“For being a jerk.”  
She laughed again, “Apology accepted. To the meeting then?”  
“Nope.”  
Valkyrie looked up into his empty eye sockets, “I can’t look that bad.”  
Skulduggery placed his hands on her shoulders and created space between them. He pretended that he didn’t see the pain in her eyes as he did so. His self-lying skills were truly top-notch.  
“I’m going to make it up to you. I’ll text Ghastly and tell him that you’ve stolen my legs.”  
“What?”  
“As revenge for painting your toe nails.”  
Valkyrie grinned darkly at him, “You know, that’s not such a bad idea.”  
“No,” he held up a finger and stepped back, “Bad Valkyrie. What I meant was that we’d do something that you want to do for the day. As long as it isn’t shopping. Anything but shopping – or taking my limbs,” he added for good measure.

He watched her think. Her eyes gleaming with schemes that involved stealing his limbs. The mischievous grin faded and turned into a broad smile. The same smile that she’s always given him when he invited her out for trouble. 

“Take me flying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeee~ Flying. What will happen on their adventure?  
> Thanks to CandraJade for her comments. It spurred me on to write more! <3
> 
> Also: I just re-read LSODM. I took my time reading it, instead of all in one go. You know what? It still destroyed me.  
> Angst or fluff? What, pray tell, is the best medicine?  
> ALSO: Has anyone read Derek's latest blog post? Did you gasp? I felt the need to cry and read fanfiction.  
> *love to all readers and creators of fanfiction*

**Author's Note:**

> How'd I go? I read three Skulduggery Books in two days. There's something wrong with me.  
> This work is gifted to Kribu, because she blew. my. mind. <3


End file.
